The Source (retailer)

The Source (Bell) Electronics Inc., doing business as The Source (French: La Source), was a Canadian consumer electronics and cell phone retail chain. The chain had been present for more than 50 years in Canada, initially as Radio Shack and later as The Source by Circuit City. The Source was owned by BCE Inc., which purchased the assets of InterTAN from its parent, American retailer Circuit City, in 2009. The chain was based in Barrie, Ontario. The chain had its origins in the Canadian franchises of RadioShack; in 2004, parent company InterTAN was acquired by American retailer Circuit City, who rebranded the stores as The Source by Circuit City the following year. In 2009, amid the liquidation of Circuit City's U.S. operations, Bell acquired The Source for US$135 million. In January 2024, BCE announced that it would permanently close approximately one-third of The Source's locations and its Barrie head office, and transition the remainder to a franchising partnership with its erstwhile competitor Best Buy. 167 locations were temporarily closed, renovated and rebranded under the new Best Buy Express banner throughout the second half of 2024. BCE continues to own the locations, but they now carry exclusively Best Buy merchandise, and offer services such as Geek Squad. They also continue to exclusively offer telecommunications services from BCE's subsidiaries including Bell Canada.